Dinner at Café Gratitude

One of the advantages of living in a hotel is having an excuse to eat out, right? No, not in my case. I still manage to make my own food every day I'm just not able to create anything exciting enough to post. But this is a different story. We went out for our anniversary and we went to a special place I'd been wanting to visit for quite a while. There's a Café Gratitude in Los Angeles too but I never had a chance to go. So my first time was at the one in Berkeley last night. Dinner was amazing from start to finish. Yes, the service was great too but what I mean is what we ate. This restaurant offers some cooked dishes too but even those have plenty of raw ingredients as topping for example. Needless to say, we ate all raw and we tried quite a few delights.

We had the “I AM SUCCULENT” juice for a refreshing start. It had grapefruit, celery, apples, and mint a perfect harmony of flavors. I wish they served it in a bucket! : )

My husband picked the salad and he’s in love with Ceaser. It wouldn’t be my first choice but the “I AM DAZZLING” vegan (luckily, it’s a vegan restaurant) raw version was wonderful. It was very small for a salad of course but that’s how salads are in restaurants...oh well, that’s why I never order salads when I eat out. Romaine lettuce was tossed with a creamy dressing and Brazil nut “parmesan” and topped with wedges of avocado and capers.

The entrées were also very small servings so if you take friends with you who are on the standard American diet, make sure you order several dishes, instead of one per person. I went with the “I AM ELATED” enchiladas. It was fantastic. Everything on the plate was so flavorful. The filling was sprouted seeds and the rolled up tortilla was topped with “sour cream” and mole. The enchilada is barely visible in the picture because most of it is hiding under a pile of salad. (oops, I goofed)

My husband chose the “I AM HEARTY” pizza, which reminded me of my transitional creations. After all, it’s been almost a year that I went raw and my diet has changed quite a bit. Again, this wouldn’t be my choice but it was very tasty. The crust was onion-sunflower seed made and the topping was marinara, pesto, olives, and “parmesan” along with a salad.

Entrées didn’t do it though, as you can imagine. I was so excited to be there for the first time, of course I had to have dessert. We both did and let me tell ya, we did not regret it.

Both, the “I AM RAPTURE SEASONAL LAYER CAKE”, which was a lemon-poppyseed (you know popyseeds and I have a special relationship so my selection was probably not a shocker) cake and the “I AM NURTURED ICE CREAM SUNDAE” were absolutely delicious. I know you’re going to be jealous but I can’t wait to go back on Tuesday. That’s right, “next time” is just around the corner and I’m counting the minutes! : ) You’ll just have to see what I’ll review that evening…

 As all of the dishes there ask:

“What are YOU grateful for?”